Bromley Council Tax Bands 2026/27

Bromley council tax bands run from A to H, and for 2026/27 the annual charge on a Band D home in the borough is £2,140.04. Unlike most of the country, where a bill is carved up between a county, a district, the police and the fire service, a London bill has only two parts: the borough’s own charge, and a precept collected on behalf of the Mayor of London. This page sets out the exact figure for every band, explains what the Greater London Authority precept actually pays for, and covers how to check your band, how to challenge it, and the discounts that reduce the bill.

Bromley council tax by band, 2026/27

The figures below are the full annual charge for each band, taken from the council’s own guide to your council tax 2026/27. There are no parish precepts in Bromley, so unlike a shire district there is only one set of numbers for the whole borough.

What it means for you: the ratios between bands are set in law and are the same everywhere in England, so a Band A home always pays two thirds of Band D and a Band H home always pays exactly double it. In cash terms, moving up one band from C to D costs roughly £238 a year in Bromley, and the gap between the cheapest and dearest band is £2,853.39.

The two parts of a London bill

Bromley collects the whole amount, but it does not keep the whole amount.

The Bromley share is by far the larger part, £1,629.53 at Band D, or about 76 pence in every pound. It funds the services people think of as local: bin collections, parking and highways, planning, libraries, parks, and by far the biggest single item, adult and children’s social care. For 2026/27 the council raised its own share by 4.99 per cent, of which 2 percentage points is the ring-fenced adult social care precept, a separate charge central government allows councils to levy specifically for care costs. The council publishes a note on how the adult social care precept is calculated.

The GLA precept is the other £510.51 at Band D, about 24 pence in the pound. This is not Bromley’s money and Bromley does not decide it. It is set by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, and it funds the Metropolitan Police, the London Fire Brigade, Transport for London and the GLA itself. Every London borough collects it on the Mayor’s behalf at the same Band D rate, so this element is identical whether you live in Bromley, Bexley or Barnet. For 2026/27 it went up by 4.10 per cent.

Put together, the two increases produce an overall rise of 4.78 per cent, which appears on bills as 4.8 per cent because of rounding.

What the bands actually mean

Every home in England sits in one of eight bands, and the band is not based on what your house is worth now. It is based on what the property would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991, a valuation date that has never been updated since council tax began in 1993. Bandings are decided by the District Valuer at HM Revenue and Customs, not by the council (council tax valuation bands).

Because the valuation date is more than thirty years old, Band G is unusually wide, covering everything from £160,001 to £320,000 in 1991 money, which is why a great many Bromley homes that feel very different from one another sit in the same band.

How to check and challenge your band

To find your band, search your postcode on the GOV.UK council tax band checker. It also shows your neighbours’ bands, which matters: if similar homes on your street are banded lower than yours, that is the strongest evidence you have for a challenge.

Banding queries go to the Valuation Office Agency, not to Bromley Council, and the council says so plainly. The grounds for a challenge are restricted, and you should be clear about the risk before you start: the VOA can lower your band, leave it alone, or raise it. You do not need to pay a company to do this. The free route is the challenge your council tax band service on GOV.UK.

Billing questions, by contrast, are the council’s. Payments are due on the 1st of each month, or the 15th or 24th if you pay by direct debit, with the first instalment of the year falling on 1 April (paying your council tax).

Discounts, exemptions and premiums

Plenty of Bromley households pay more than they need to because they never claim.

The single person discount takes 25 per cent off. Bromley explains the logic behind it more clearly than most councils: the bill is treated as 50 per cent property tax and 50 per cent residential tax, and the residential half assumes two adults, so one adult means the residential element drops to 25 per cent. It does not apply to empty properties, and you must tell the council straight away if your circumstances change, or you will end up repaying an overpayment (single person discount).

Certain people are disregarded when the council counts the adults in a home. If everyone but one resident is disregarded you still get 25 per cent off, and if every resident is disregarded the discount is 50 per cent. The categories include full time students, student nurses, apprentices and people on youth training, spouses of overseas students, people whose main home is a hospital, care home, hospice or hostel, people who are severely mentally impaired, 18 and 19 year olds at or just out of school, low paid care workers living with the person they care for, carers looking after someone with a disability who is not a spouse or a child under 18, members of religious communities, and people in prison other than for non-payment.

There is also a disabled band reduction where a property has been adapted to meet the needs of a disabled resident, and a means-tested council tax support scheme for households on low incomes, which reduces the bill itself rather than applying a discount to it.

The charges run the other way too. Bromley applies the empty homes premium at the maximum the law permits. A property empty for two to five years carries a 100 per cent premium, so the bill doubles. Empty five to ten years carries 200 per cent, and empty over ten years carries 300 per cent. The premium attaches to the property rather than the owner, so buying a house that has already stood empty for two years means inheriting the 100 per cent premium from day one. The only exemptions are properties left empty by a serving member of the armed forces posted away, and annexes forming part of a single property. Around 350 Bromley homes are recorded as empty for two years or more (empty homes premium).

What it means for you: if you live alone, the single person discount is worth £535.01 a year at Band D and £891.68 at Band G, and it is a five minute form. If you have a student, an apprentice or a live-in carer in the house, check the disregard list before assuming you owe the full amount.

Frequently asked questions

How much is council tax in Bromley for 2026/27?

Band D is £2,140.04 for the year, made up of £1,629.53 for Bromley and £510.51 for the Greater London Authority. The full range runs from £1,426.69 at Band A to £4,280.08 at Band H. There are no parish precepts in Bromley, so these figures apply borough-wide.

What is the GLA precept on my Bromley council tax bill?

It is the Mayor of London’s share, £510.51 at Band D in 2026/27, roughly 24 per cent of the bill. Bromley collects it but does not set it or keep it. It funds the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade, Transport for London and the GLA, and it is the same figure in every London borough.

How much did Bromley council tax go up in 2026/27?

Bromley increased its own share by 4.99 per cent, including 2 percentage points for the adult social care precept. The GLA share rose by 4.10 per cent. The combined increase is 4.78 per cent, shown as 4.8 per cent on bills after rounding.

How do I check what council tax band my house is in?

Search your postcode on the GOV.UK band checker. It is free and also shows your neighbours’ bands. Bands are set by the Valuation Office Agency based on what the property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, not on today’s value.

Can I get a discount on my Bromley council tax?

Yes. A single adult living alone gets 25 per cent off. Students, apprentices, carers, people who are severely mentally impaired and several other groups are disregarded when adults are counted, which can mean a 25 or 50 per cent discount. There is also a disabled band reduction and a means-tested council tax support scheme.

What happens to council tax on an empty property in Bromley?

A premium is added on top of the normal bill: 100 per cent extra once the property has been empty two to five years, 200 per cent from five to ten years, and 300 per cent beyond ten years. The premium follows the property, not the owner, so it passes to a new buyer.

Sources

• London Borough of Bromley, a guide to your council tax 2026/27, for every band figure, the Bromley and GLA split, and the 4.99, 4.10 and 4.78 per cent increases
• London Borough of Bromley, council tax valuation bands, for the 1991 value ranges
• London Borough of Bromley, discounts and exemptions, council tax support and empty homes premium
• GOV.UK, check your council tax band and challenge your council tax band

Figures are those published by the London Borough of Bromley for the 2026/27 financial year and are reset each spring. Confirm on the council’s own pages before relying on a number.